Authorities now say predatory animals left the impression that a Long Prairie girl’s pet horse had been mutilated.

The Todd County sheriff’s office said Tuesday that the pet palomino, named Savannah, apparently died of natural causes, and there’s no evidence that the horse was either mutilated or accidentally shot by deer hunters, as authorities once thought.

Instead, authorities said, predators scavenged the horse after its death.

Katie Symalla, 11, found her horse dead in a pasture outside her home earlier this month.

The horse’s death prompted the Humane Society of the United States to put up a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the mutilation.

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